Over two months after the trail derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, followed by a catastrophic release of chemicals, residents in the area report they are still experiencing adverse health effects and have other concerns related to chemical exposure.
Courtney Miller, an East Palestine resident described her symptoms to Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, claiming she has “many issues.””A lot of it is stomach pain, constant stomach pain. It feels like stabbing in my stomach,” she said. “I’ve had a shortness of breath, I’ve tried to go to the hospital a few times because of it, and they’re telling me that I don’t meet criteria.”Miller also described lesions on the right side of her face with pus oozing out.”I didn’t know if it was a chemical burn or if it was from the dioxins or why it’s only on the one side of my face and not the other,” she said.
Dioxin (also known as 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo para dioxin) is known to cause skin lesions.
Short-term exposure of humans to high levels of dioxins may result in skin lesions, such as chloracne and patchy darkening of the skin, and altered liver function. Long-term exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions.
Below is an example of dioxin-induced chloracne.
Another East Palestine resident says he tested positive for breakdown products from vinyl chloride, which was one of the four chemicals that were part of the “controlled burn” that was the response action selected after the derailment occurred.
Eric Cozza says he’s not getting the answers he needs and News 5 Investigators learned he is not the only one.People want answers about their health and they’re taking it upon themselves to get tested…..He showed us what he says is his urine test result from last month, which revealed a breakdown product of vinyl chloride.”So was that shocking to you at all?” we asked.“Yes, this is very shocking. Because I never thought two months out — maybe when we came back for a little while — to see this two months out, almost three months out, it’s very shocking,” Cozza said.Cozza said he took his results to Norfolk Southern, the railroad company pointed to everything but the derailment.”They said because I’m a smoker, deodorant, stuff like that,” Cozza said.The CDC says you can be exposed to vinyl chloride from cigarette and cigar smoke. Cozza isn’t convinced that’s the cause.”They’re putting even more stress on us because we’re not getting answers,” Cozza said.
An inmate sitting in a prison cell nearly 20 miles from the derailment is suing the railroad chief executive for $25 million.
A lawsuit filed by 30-year-old Josh Turner in U.S. District Court against Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw claims that the spillage of vinyl chloride in the February 3rd derailment and subsequent decision for a controlled burn sent toxic chemicals into the environment.Turner, who is serving a four-year sentence for robbery and felonious assault at the Ohio Penitentiary on Coitsville-Hubbard Road in Youngstown, alleges in the partially hand-written complaint that he has been suffering from rashes, headaches, chest pain, wheezing, and breathing problems which he attributes to impact of vinyl chloride.Claiming that prison officials have made no effort to provide inmates with bottled water, Turner alleges that his constitutional rights are being violated.
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